Park freezes for a second, then jerks toward Raj. His face shows fear, then quickly changes to fury. His eyes flash red as he turns to the door, moving magically fast. "She feels terror!"
He runs out of the house, ignoring any stealth and running as fast as his triple-time magic lets him....
Raj’s mind calculates the odds and the possible actions quickly. The weaver could be a problem unless she was exposed as a monster. He looks to the others left in the wake of Park’s swift departure even as he shoves the corpse unceremoniously through the rear window and follows it out. ”Go! Go! Go! I’ll dump the body and catch up!”
Zhandar drops all pretense of being dazed and wounded and tears off after Park, trying to keep up with him. Her mind races, her fears about the vampire head attacking Kendra rising and overpowering her practical nature.
It's horrible and creepy-- the dead body, what Zandar has to say about it-- but then it's abruptly all more urgent than that. Park's words make Mila gasp, and she looks between the others wide-eyed (wait, were Park's eyes just red??) before two of them are sprinting out, and Rajuna is telling her to go as well.
She hesitates-- it seems such a bad idea to separate-- but Kendra isn't no fighter, and Raj is.
"Catch up with us when you can," she says swiftly, then turns to run after the other two. As she exits the weaver's house, Mila whispers words of a prayer to the Stag Lord.
Protect me with your branches, forest-father...
Her skin darkens and roughens, taking on the texture of the bark of a mighty oak. As soon as the transformation completes, she shifts to a sprint, her long legs serving her well enough.
The group arrives (minus Rajuna, he'll catch up in a bit) at the camp you made beside your wagon. The two horses attached to it have broken the restraints and fled into the fields, though you can see they have not gone too far.
Kendra is nowhere to be seen, but you see two villagers laying face down in the dirt and there are obvious signs of a pitched battle occurring here: blood, footsteps in the dirt, a handful of broken arrows here and there. A quick examination of the two obvious cultists reveals that they have large holes that look like they've been pierced through with high speed projectiles.
Birdie is hanging around the northern end of camp, fluttering about nervously. As soon as he spots you investigating the camp, however, he flies back over to Park before hovering in front of the bard. Seems as if he's trying to lead you somewhere?
"Magic missile holes, likely cast by Kendra," Zhandar explains quickly after briefly glancing at the cultists' bodies.
Fingers screeches and points at Birdie, perhaps picking up on Zhandar's nervous energy.
Milovica's eyes narrow at the sight-- or rather at the absence-- of Kendra. "This ain't good..."
She notes that Birdie is trying to guide them on, but it doesn't hurt to confirm-- she scans the ground for tracks, while also muttering another invocation to her god.
Deadeye, grant me your vision, for I am hunting...
Just north of the bridge, Rajuna sends the body bobbing down the river… although with the lungs and most of the viscera missing, the body could easily fill with water and sink quickly. Sadly, he doesn’t have the time to learn the answer to this question. As soon as he pushes the body into the center of the stream, he scrambles up the embankment and across the bridge. He sprints toward the wagon then detours to catch up with his allies in animated discussion with the irate bird. ”What are we looking at?” It seems a general question about the situation and not a specific object.
Park pauses, listening for any words but accepts that Birdie is too upset. "OK Birdie. Lead us. We're ready for the monsters."
He readies weapons glancing at his friends.
Even with Mila's distraction, it's not hard to determine where the tracks lead. Birdie helps direct you, ultimately ending up (perhaps predictably) in front of the the ChenoWitz Place. A wicker-and-gourd scarecrow of a moth-winged woman leans against a rickety frame in the front yard of this derelict farmhouse.
The house’s windows are boarded up, and its front porch is overgrown with thick curtains of ivy. Cornfields left to grow wild surround the building itself, and the constant hum of insects fills the air. Twisted and entwined vines of dead ivy drape the rotting columns and broken boards of the rickety porch, creating a thick curtain of vegetation. A door hanging from rusty hinges is barely visible through a thick drapery of ivy, the only visible means of entry into the otherwise totally boarded-up farmhouse.
Mila looks at the scarecrow with a lack of recognition, her focus clearly elsewhere. With worry shading her voice she says, "Seems we might have some fights on our hands. Raj, did you say that magic stick helps people not wearin' armor? Maybe I'd benefit?"
She eyes the foreboding aspect of the overgrown house. "I just got a bad feelin' about this."
Raj flexes his wrist and a wand snaps into his hand. He taps Mila with it (and himself for good measure) before re-loading it into his wrist-sheath and tensioning the spring.
He regards the scarecrow, "I don't know Lady Desna personally... but I gotta think she wouldn't find this flattering."
When everyone is ready, Raj advances quietly along the dirt path toward the porch and front door...
Park glances at the scarecrow. "It should be burned." He moves with Raj, directing Birdie to stay behind him.
"This place is evil. Those in charge deserve no mercy."
As soon as Rajuna and Park gets closer, the scarecrow suddenly stumbles to life, lurching towards the group. Rajuna and Park both notice strange whispering rambles that seemingly come from nowhere and are only in their head.
As it startles 'awake', you notice that something seems...off about the effigy, as if some further malevolence was guiding its movement. Even from as far away as he is, Rajuna can see the things' eyes are full of strange twisting emotions that the effigy should not possess.
Init
22- Park
14- It
11- Mila
10- Zhandar
10- haunt
8- Rajuna
Seeing the odd enemy, straw man?, Park considers alchemists fire to burn it. However, not wanting to set the field on fire he moves beside Rajuna, commands Birdie, "Sing Courage Birdie" and then throws his chakram at it. Readying his machete after to chop the thing to pieces....
When Raj starts sharing his wand, Zhandar removes the two concoctions of cat's grace she prepared earlier and hands one to Park and Raj. "Drink these now," she tells them. She also mixes a potion of tears to wine that she shares with everyone, and casts ashen path on the party. Finally, she casts ablative barrier on herself. "I am ready," she says, before following the others.
Park's chakram lodges firmly in the straw of the things' torso, obviously damaging it fully. In return, the unsettling thing stares with its deep fiery lit-up eyes directly at Park, and he cannot help but be fascinated by the deep pits of light inside the pumpkin that serves as the things' head.
That done, the thing moves closer to the center of the group.
Init
Round 1
22- Park
14- It
11- Mila
10- Zhandar
10- haunt
8- Rajuna
Zhandar examines the animated scarecrow to determine what it is and whether or not it has a brain.
"It is a haunted construct," she says to her friends, "though I believe it is still mindless and it cannot be affected with magic as a living body. The spirit within it may give it additional powers."
"You didn't say nothin' about it bein' immune to arrows," Mila says in response to Zhandar's summary.
"So here goes--"
Zhandar wavers, trying to decide how best to fight the construct, but finally settles on drawing a flask of alchemist's fire and tossing it at the scarecrow. Unfortunately her delay gives the scarecrow time to move closer, threatening Park, but Zhandar hopes that the splash damage might wake the bard from whatever reverie the scarecrow has placed him in.
Mila's trio of arrows strike true, one even finding itself piercing through one of the pumpkin head's eye. The scarecrow (for Zhandar knows it's a scarecrow now) howls horrifically, sending chills down your spine. A scarecrow shouldn't be able to do that...
Zhandar tosses an alchemist's fire and sets it alight, somehow eliciting more screaming voices to emanate from the thing's body as the straw and wings catch flame. The voices, both from the thing and inside your heads, grow louder and louder and louder with each passing second as the haunt seemingly takes effect.
Round 1
22- Park
14- It
11- Mila
10- Zhandar
10- haunt
8- Rajuna
Round 2
22- Park
14- It
11- Mila
10- Zhandar
10- haunt
8- Rajuna
Fortunately, Raj’s mental defenses hold. He shrugs off the voices, steps around Park, and lays into the scarecrow with both fists. His second punch is an absolute haymaker.
Stunning Fist (4): x
Ki Pool (4): xxx
Shuriken (16): xxx
MW Shuriken (12):
Scabbard of Vigor (1):
Wand of Mage Armor (50): xx
Effects:
AoOs (6/rnd) – Constant
*Uncanny Dodge – Constant
Mage Armor – 4 hours
Cat’s Grace -- + 4 DEX = +2 to HIT, +2 DAM – 4 mins
Tears to Wine – 40 mins
The first punch is enough to put the scarecrow out of business, thankfully, and the second one is satisfying but ultimately just pummels the pumpkin head into smithereens. The scarecrow is dead, destroyed even, and you can continue on into the house.
"...we... we killed it!" Mila says, blinking down at the pulped scarecrow. She looks to the others, then smiles hopefully.
"We did it! The folk'll be safe now-- I bet this thing was leading the cult!" she beams naively. If her hands weren't busy with her bow, she'd pat herself on the back, probably. For a moment she forgets all about the penanggelan, the mayor, and other probable threats that lay ahead. It's fair to say Mila's past experience with monster-hunting has consisted of 'slay the single creature that is threatening the village sheep, and all is well' -- and they've already killed two.
"Everyone alright?"
Park shakes his head, coming out of his mental stasis.... "Wow! That thing.... Good job guys."
He calls Birdie to him. "Stay on my pack and safe, or back off if I get attacked."
As they approach the house again Park moves over to Mila. "Once we're done, I owe you an apology.... and an explanation."
Raj dusts his hands off. ”There goes the element of surprise.” He approaches the front door, inspects it and tries to open it.
Zhandar peers around, checking to see if there is any obvious movement nearby.
Making your way on to the porch pushing through the thick vines covering the entire porch, you discover an ancient human skeleton on the boards, mostly overgrown by the vines. Whoever this was did not die recently, and has been forgotten in the state the farmhouse has fallen into.
The door to the farmhouse opens quite easily, however, and even if it didn't it certainly wouldn't be hard to push the rotting wooden door open without much trouble. A cold hearth dominates this large room. Between the mostly collapsed internal walls and separate jumbles of crumbled furniture, it seems that this large room may have once been several smaller rooms. A rickety ladder leads to what looks like an upper loft above, visible through several large holes in the overhanging ceiling above. A large wooden cage sits in the southwest corner of the room.
Inside are three humanoids dressed in what looks to be some sort of cultist get up designed to make them look like blood-sucking insects. They each wield sickles, and were obviously waiting here for you.
All three rush to the door to gang up on Rajuna, sickles lashing out in defense of their 'lair'.
Even caught off guard, Rajuna is protected enough for their blades to bounce off easily.
Init:
15- cultists
9- Mila
8- Zhandar
8- Park
7- Rajuna
Raj is glad - yet again - for both his thief-honed reflexes and studying magic... as all three eviscerating strikes fail to penetrate his defenses. He’d already spared two cultists’ lives today… and that was about the limit of his charity. ”Where’s Kendra? First person to answer truthfully may get to live.” To prove his sincerity, he fires off a couple kicks at the cultist blocking the doorway, trying to break bones.
However, his argument would have been more persuasive if the rotting decking beneath his feet hadn’t chosen that moment to give way…
Stunning Fist (4): x
Ki Pool (4): xxx
Shuriken (16): xxx
MW Shuriken (12):
Scabbard of Vigor (1):
Wand of Mage Armor (50): xx
Effects:
AoOs (6/rnd) – Constant
*Uncanny Dodge – Constant
Mage Armor – 4 hours
Cat’s Grace -- + 4 DEX = +2 to HIT, +2 DAM – 4 mins
Tears to Wine – 40 mins
"The two on the sides might have to take you up on that offer, Raj," Mila says darkly, adjusting to where she has a good straight line on the one whose clothes seem slightly blue. The bow twangs twice after her words.
Surprised at Raj's missed kicks Park stabs his dagger at the enemy in the doorway....
Zhandar frowns and draws one of her vaporous potions of magic missile and hurls it at the ground beneath the cultist on the right with her staff.
The cultists don't answer Raj's question, clearly not interested in talking.
The one in front of the door crumples immediately under the strength of Mila's arrows and Zhandar's potion strikes the other one hard, sending him to the ground as well.
Park steps inside the door (provoking an attack but getting soft cover from the door), and the cultist swings her sickle wildly but the door catches the tip of it and makes her miss. Park's strike hits her but doesn't take her down quite yet.
The cultist, now alone and cornered, takes another desperate swing at Park. It nicks his arm and Park immediately feels the stinging of poison in his skin once more.
Init:
Round 2
15- cultists
9- Mila
8- Zhandar
8- Park
7- Rajuna
Feeling the burn of poison (again) Park steps ahead to allow Rajuna to follow, and stabs again.
Zhandar casts guidance on Mila.
Rajuna pulls his foot from the hole in the deck, steps into the house, and tries to deliver a set of more cautious punches.
Stunning Fist (4): x
Ki Pool (4): xxx
Shuriken (16): xxx
MW Shuriken (12):
Scabbard of Vigor (1):
Wand of Mage Armor (50): xx
Effects:
AoOs (6/rnd) – Constant
*Uncanny Dodge – Constant
Mage Armor – 4 hours
Cat’s Grace -- + 4 DEX = +2 to HIT, +2 DAM – 4 mins
Tears to Wine – 40 mins
"Everyone alright?" Mila says with worry, hurrying forward to inspect Park's cut from the cultist knife.
As her fingers brush the nasty cut, she murmurs to him, "I dunno what you think you need to say sorry to me for, Park...."
Park feels the healing and sighs, letting himself relax. "I felt poison. But it's OK for now. Let's continue. We gotta find Kendra before these bastards hurt her!"
He hears Mila and smiles. "Once we're out of here. No time now, but time is part of it."
Zhandar purses her lips. "I could mix a concoction to delay the effects of the poison for several hours. It would only take a minute, but if there is any risk of it incapacitating you, it might be worth it." She looks to Park and then the others to see what they think.
Zhandar takes a look at both the wound Park has and the extra vials of poison the cultists carry (one each, so three total) and identifies it as blue whinnis poison. It's very likely that Park has shaken off the rest of the entire effects, though whether or not she wants to make one to have for the future is another matter.
Beyond the cultists' belongings (each one carries the dose of poison, a sickle, an antitoxin, their robes, and 24 gold in total), the room doesn't carry much of interest. Even the cage in the corner of the room looks to be empty, although there is signs that it's been used before to store...something.
The ladder leading up appears to lead to some sort of crawl space above the main room of the farmhouse, and the open room to the west features broken chairs, old straw-filled mattresses, and water stained, moldering quilts, but even from here you can see a handful of lit candles on the boarded up window sill for some purpose.
There's also the closed door in the north wall.